Author's Note:

People are still freaking out about this, but Byleth and Beleth from Three Houses...are now in SMASH BROTHERS! Quite coincidental I'll say, given that we kicked off the year with the Three Houses chapters and stuff. As I've told others, I knew there was something fishy about Three Houses not having any Spirits, while games such as Sword/Shield and Link's Awakening did...and now my suspensions have been confirmed.

I expected Byleth and Beleth to come right after the Fighter's Pass, so for them to be the fifth character is still surprising to me. And now, Byelth and Beleth will be joining the mansion next week, along with Altair from Assassin's Creed and Cuphead from...Cuphead. I was pretty open to the idea of having Byleth and Beleth appearing next week, but it looks like I have no choice now.

And with the second Fighter's Pass, there will be many other characters joining the fray, up until December 2021. Which means that this story will most likely continue past December 2021 and beyond...oy vey...

With all of that addressed, let me talk a bit about this chapter - this is a Golden Deer chapter, with a smidge of Tokyo Mirage Sessions thrown in (since the game will be released on the Switch today). Also, I like Golden Deer...just wanted to get that off my chest. Now we can finally answer some guest reviews:

"Will the Church of Seiros characters show up? (Since they're the alternate route if you betray the Black Eagles) a scene of Princess Athena meeting her descendant Athena Asamiya? (There was an arcade game of her prior to King of Fighters Athena showing up) will the Doom Eternal chapter be delayed further? (March 20 is the date for the PS4 and Xbox One versions only) will a Megaman Zero and ZX chapter happen when the game comes out February 25? And finally what are your thoughts on the Pokemon Direct?"

One day they will. Princess Athena and Athena Asamiya meeting each other would be interesting. I won't be delaying the Doom Eternal chapter. I should be able to do a Mega Man Zero and ZX chapter in February. And for the last question, I'll answer that one later. Actually, I'll answer it right now, since PinkRose4452 asked it also:

"What are your thoughts on the Pokémon direct? Also, what are your thoughts about the NationalDex coming back to Sw/Sh?"

It was a pretty cool direct, lots of cool stuff featured. I really dig the new Regi (Regivolt and Regidrake, that's what their names will be). Wouldn't say that the National Dex is officially back, but having 200 old Pokemon added to the game should cool everyone's jets. Last review comes from Prometheus:

"1) Ever since the bankruptcy of ALPHADREAM, I've been worried that the Mario and Luigi series will have its end. But I read a recent article which states that and new Mario and Luigi game could come to mobile or switch, what do you think?
2) ...Black Panther 2 doesn't come until 2022..."

1) I'd rather have a new Mario and Luigi game on the Switch, so that the series could see a rebirth of sorts.
2) Yeah I know...Black Panther 2 in 2022...if I can wait for the Eternals, that Shang-Chi movie, that Doctor Strange sequel, and Thor: Love and Thunder, then I can wait until 2022 for Black Panther 2. Can't say the same for everyone else, though...


Episode 213: Charming

The Smash Mansion had seen many guests over at the mansion over the past two weeks, all of them coming from either the Black Eagles or the Blue Lions. Both houses were led by their faithful leader - Edelgard, the elegant and dignified noblewoman, and Dimitri, the calm and stern nobleman.

However, no matter how great Edelgard and Dimitri were, they were nothing in comparison to the charming leader of the Golden Deer...Claude.

Being the charmer that he was, Claude most certainly turned heads around in Foldan, especially with his handsome and dashing looks. More of the same was to be expected at the Smash Mansion, since there was hardly a resident that could resist Claude's charm. A few could try as they might, but they would fall short.

"Yo, Master Hand, I'm finally finished with-a the..." Sonic spoke as he came down the stairs..only to stop in his tracks when he saw the charming Claude. The hedgehog was looking starstruck, as he saw Claude and his right-hand woman, Hilda, with Master Hand and a few adoring residents.

"You're so awesome, Claude!" Yoshi cheered on for the nobleman, before he started squealing like an obsessed fan girl and fainted unto the floor.

"Thank you, thank you, I know..." smiled Claude as he charmed the residents, trying his best to stay humble despite all the euphoria going on around him.

"Claude, let me be the first to say that you're so much better than those charisma vacuums Edelgard and Dimitri," Master Hand told the nobleman, who was smiling and waving to a few residents in the crowd. "You have enough charisma to blow them out of the park!"

"People tell me that all the time." As Claude continued to smile and wave, he leaned in close to Hilda and whispered, "This is starting to get a tad annoying..."

"Keep it up, everyone seems to be soaking it in," Hilda whispered back, as Claude was now smiling with a very tired look on his face. Sonic was beginning to empathize for poor Claude.

Sonic: It must suck to be Claude. To be so charming and awesome, that everyone would fall head over heels for you! Just stepping inside a room full of drab people could be enough to command everybody's attention! Reminds me of how people were fawning over Leon, when he visited the mansion the first time around. But what is it about Claude and Leon that draws people in? Is it their charm? Is it their persona? Is it because of the fact that they're both light-skinned, and light-skinned people get praised a lot? *pauses* Are Leon and Claude related?

"It was nice getting to see you all again!" Claude said to the crowd of residents as he waved, before heading down the hallway with Master Hand and Hilda. Once the crowd dispersed, Sonic followed after Claude and company.

"You really know how to work a crowd, my man," Master Hand told Claude, who was pretty exhausted from all the endless charming. Claude wiped off his forehead, as Hilda massaged his shoulders.

"Yeah, Claude, you're pretty popular even outside of Fodlan!" Hilda told the nobleman, as the three reached Master Hand's bedroom door. Sonic was close by. "Tell us your secret!"

"I don't have a secret, honestly..." Claude shrugged his shoulders, as Sonic ran to the other side of the hallway unseen. "...I guess it just comes naturally." Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Hold the sauce, you two - I'll be right back," Master Hand told Claude and Hilda, as he floated to the foyer to answer the front door. Claude laid against the wall, as Hilda patted him on the chest.

"Poor guy looks drained..." Sonic remarked quietly, hiding behind a vase so he wouldn't be unseen. Soon Master Hand returned to the premises...with Amy Rose. Sonic made sure to conceal himself further.

"Say, have you two ever met Amy?" Master Hand asked Claude and Hilda, as Sonic frowned and smacked his forehead. Why was Master Hand introducing the hedgehog's girlfriend to others, that was Sonic's job! "Claude and Hilda, this is Amy Rose; Amy, this is Claude and Hilda."

"Nice to meet you," Claude greeted Amy, mustering up enough charm and charisma to act friendly despite being exhausted. Hilda looked at Amy, and knew that they would be best friends for life.

"Hi Claude! Hi Hilda!" Amy waved to the nobleman and noblewoman, before she took a great interest in the latter as her sixth sense perked up. "You must have a taste for fashion, don't you?" Amy asked Hilda.

"Are you kidding me? I LOVE fashion!" exclaimed Hilda, as she and Amy were now on the fast track towards being best friends. Sonic groaned. "I always have a passion for fashion!"

"You've gotta be joking..." grumbled Sonic, who was wondering why so many girls around the world adored fashion so much.

"Master Hand, you mind if I kick back in your room?" Claude asked the giant hand, before letting out a yawn. "A great nobleman needs some rest!"

"Right you are, my friend," replied Master Hand, as he opened his bedroom door and allowed Claude to enter his room before focusing his attention on Hilda. "Claude will be resting inside my room and charging his batteries, so you can do whatever until he's fully rested. Capiche?"

"That's easy enough for me!" grinned Hilda, as Master Hand floated inside his room before closing the door. After Master Hand had left, Amy furrowed her brow, which Hilda noticed. "What's the matter, Amy?"

"My Sonic Senses are tingling..." replied Amy, acting like she was some kind of Spider-Man; Sonic found what Amy had said to be very ridiculous.

"'Sonic Senses?' Are you kidding me right now?!" the hedgehog shouted, before covering his mouth. Sonic, with his cover blown, was soon discovered by Amy after the pink hedgehog broke the vase Sonic was hiding behind with her Piko Hammer.

"Sonic! I knew you were hanging around!" exclaimed Amy, as she gave her boyfriend a hug. Sonic tried to push Amy away, but to no avail. "My Sonic Senses told me to follow Master Hand here."

"Stop talking about your 'Sonic Senses' please...it's kinda creepy," pleaded Sonic, as Amy allowed the blue hedgehog to stand up. "I see that you and Hilda are now best friends..."

"She enjoys fashion, can you believe it?" Hilda asked Sonic about Amy and her love for fashion; Sonic just looked away and rolled his eyes. "I bet she likes cute things as much as I do!"

"Ah, you know me too well Hilda!" gleamed Amy, as Sonic had the sudden indignation to vomit all over the floor. "And you know what's cute? Sonic's pet Pokemon! His adorable Shaymin!"

"Really, Amy? You're trying to force me to show off my Shaymin?" Sonic scolded his girlfriend, as Hilda's excitement had now grew tenfold. All thanks to Amy.

"I must see this Shaymin right now!" said Hilda as she ran up to Sonic, unnerving the hedgehog with her constant smiling. "Take us to Shaymin!"

"Aw, do I really have to?" Moaning, Sonic looked at Amy, who was giving the blue blur a very stern side eye. Sonic sighed, as he led Hilda and Amy down the hallway. "Follow me, ladies..."


Fox: As expected, Claude brought himself along with the guys and gals from Golden Deer to the mansion, for a little visit. But sadly, Falco and I won't be spending any time with the Golden Deer today...since we'll be in another country.
Falco: Itsuki wants to hold a Star Records concert in Tokyo, in order to bring more attention to our record label. It's gonna be pretty cool - all the idol singers are gonna sing their songs, and dance all over the stage, and all that jazz.
Fox: And then, during the concert, some schmuck in the crowd is gonna record one of the idol singers on their phone, and reply to some random message on social media with the video they recorded. Since that's the way of life in the Asian music world, apparently.
Falco: No lie, I went unto Yelp one day to ask what the best barbecue restaurant in Seattle was, and someone answered my question by posting a video of some male k-pop idol doing the shimmy onstage at a concert. They're spilling over, man...

Preparations were being made for the Star Records concert in Tokyo, as the four performers - Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, and Yashiro - were getting themselves dressed in their attire. Fox and Falco were getting themselves prepared by loading up shirt guns.

"Remember, Falco, shoot at their chest, not at their head," Fox advised Falco, after the two pilots exited from the storage room. "Last thing we'd want is for some Japanese person to sue us."

"Only a person who hates fun and life in general would sue us," stated Falco as he and Fox made their way to the teleportation room, where Bass would teleport them and the others to Tokyo. "Any normal person would just laugh it off."

"You always love to do things with reckless abandon, don't ya..." Fox and Falco would soon come to a stop, when they came across an ongoing conversation in the middle of the hallway. Said conversation was between Sans and the self-deprecating Golden Deer member Marianne.

"you're one of the golden deer, huh?" Sans asked Marianne, who meekly nodded her head with her hands clasped together. "i just wanna say, i'm very...fawn'd of you guys, I really am. especially you."

"I'm sorry, you don't really have to lie to me like that," responded Marianne as she lowered her head - always hanging her head low when speaking. "I can tell that you're just, um, hiding the truth..."

"so you think i'm some kind of liar, huh? oh deer..." Sans was chuckling at his own joke, and Marianne was looking very slighted for whatever reason.

"I know that you're laughing at me, aren't you? You, um, have no idea how much I despise being mocked..." Fox and Falco, seeing how Marianne was acting, quickly ran over to the noblewoman's aid.

"Bruh, Sans, lay off the woman will ya?" Falco put the skeleton on blast, as he and Fox were comforting Marianne. "Can't you see that you're making her upset?"

"excuse me, falco, but I was just to turn her frown upside down. thought that a few of my deer puns would do the trick."

"Well obviously you sucked in that regard," said Fox, before directing his attention to Marianne; the noblewoman was looking flustered, not wanting to come in contact with anyone. "You alright, Marianne?"

"Yes I am, those puns didn't, um, bother me as much as it seemed," responded Marianne, doing her best to form some kind of smile on her face. "I honestly don't want to be here, at the mansion."

"Understandable - the mansion can literally drive just about anyone to the brink of depression, or even suicide! Surprisingly that hasn't happened...yet. Anyways, Falco and I could take you to the tower."

"No thanks, I don't wish to head to the tower...I just want to, um, head back home. I'd feel much more comfortable back in Fodlan."

"Or you could come with us to Tokyo!" Falco suggested to Marianne, who was very much against the idea. Marianne was often against going to foreign countries. "Star Records is having a concert over there."

"I'm sorry; I would love to go, but I'm afraid that my presence could possibly be a hindrance. Me being there could give your concert bad luck...since I am a bad luck charm, after all."

"SHE JUST CALLED HERSELF A BAD LUCK CHARM!" wheezed Falco, as he and Fox were laughing away. Sans was laughing along with the pilots, but Marianne was not.

"Look, Marianne, only you believe that you bring bad luck," Fox said to the noblewoman, wrapping his arm around her. "So why don't you ease up, and come along with us? I'm sure you'll have a great time!"

"Please, no, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into..." Marianne pleaded to Fox, who guided the noblewoman to the teleportation room against her will with Falco coming along.

"that marianne...she'll be fawning over the idol singers pretty quickly," grinned Sans, before chuckling at his own pun, as he watched Marianne head down the hallway with Fox and Falco. Skull Kid would join Sans, seeing Marianne from the distance.

"She must've been met with a terrible fate, hasn't she?" Skull Kid asked Sans, having encountered Marianne earlier in the day. "Girl's got some serious problems..."

Skull Kid: Accidentally spooked Marianne earlier today...or rather she spooked herself. Either or. I tried to spook her even more by doing some dancing, but then she just screamed and ran away, calling herself bad luck or something. Not sure if it was my mask that scared her away, or my dance, but man did seeing that woman run down the hallway make me feel good...

"from what I've gathered, she has pretty low self-esteem," explained Sans, fearing that Marianne's lack of self-esteem could be much, much lower than pretty low. "couldn't perk her up with my puns."

"No surprise there, since all your puns are lame and stupid," said Skull Kid, as Sans frowned at the imp. Wasn't often that you saw Sans frowning. "...what, can't take a joke? Hehehe..."

"fox and falco think that some concert might make marianne happy again. but if you ask me..." Sans leaned in close to Skull Kid, smiling from ear to ear. "...a concert is never fun without some chaos on the side."

"You insinuating that we should crash the concert?" Skull Kid rubbed his hands together, as Sans nodded his head. "Sans, I really like the way you think..."


Mario no longer had to deal with any excruciating urinary problems, which meant that he didn't have to worry about Fox or Falco or anyone else to come to his house and "cure" him of his ailment. The plumber, feeling relieved, was doing some housecleaning around his living room...which included throwing away his Christmas tree.

"C'mon, Mario, you can do it..." Mario confidently told himself, taking a deep breath as he stood in front of an open screen door. Spyro and Ruby came over to the plumber, wondering why he was looking so tense.

"Dude, you should've thrown out your Christmas tree weeks ago," Spyro told Mario, who couldn't even bear to get more than half of the tree outside. "Should've thrown it away around New Year's Eve!"

"I know, but I just-a can't do it!" Mario placed the Christmas tree on the floor, as he sat on the floor and whimpered. "Without-a my Christmas tree, my living room will look...so plain and life-a less."

"It was pretty much like that before you got the tree," stated Ruby, noting how Mario was chill with removing all the other Christmas decorations. But removing the Christmas tree...that was a huge hurdle for the plumber.

"Shut up Ruby, you know-a nothing! You've only been living here for what, two-a months?! Miss-a me with that stupid crap..."

"Oh my, is Mario having another tantrum about throwing out the Christmas tree?" Peach asked Spyro and Ruby, as she came down the stairs. Mario was doing his best not to cry, holding back the tears.

"He's made more progress than he did yesterday," replied Spyro, before the sound of the doorbell ringing was heard. "He actually got part of the tree out through the screen door!"

"At least he's making slow steps..." Peach ran to the front door, as Mario stood back up and resumed carrying the tree out of the house - only phoning it in so he wouldn't have to make much effort. "...Spyro, Ruby, can you help Mario out?"

"No, Princess-a Peach, I got this..." assured a very saddened Mario, as Peach smirked and shook her head. Peach would answer the front door, expecting someone from the Golden Deer to be standing by...

...and it turns out that she was right, as she was now standing face-to-face with the snobby nobleman Lorenz. Lorenz was presenting himself in a very dignified manner, looking like quite the gentleman and then some.

"Good afternoon, Princess Peach," Lorenz greeted the princess, unable to wipe away the beaming smile that was on his face. "I take it that you're handling yourself quite well, on this fine Friday afternoon?"

"Looking handsome as always, Lorenz!" Peach said to the nobleman, who would do the unthinkable as he took Peach's hand...and kissed it! This perilous action automatically triggered something in Mario's mind.

"Did he just kiss-a my wife?" growled Mario, acting like Lorenz had kissed Peach on the lips. But to the plumber, kissing Peach's hand or anywhere else on the princess' body was just as bad, if not worse.

"Here we go..." sighed Spyro, as Mario angrily dropped the tree unto the floor and marched towards the front door. Lorenz saw Mario advancing, and would make the plumber stop by holding out his hand.

"No no no - not another step!" Lorenz stopped Mario in his tracks, and Mario would do as he was told, despite still being angry. "This conversation is only for noble folks, not blue-collars. Know your role."

"Oh snap, he told you!" shouted Hunter, who was able to hear the conversation from where he was. The cheetah showed up in the living room just to point and laugh at Mario in a mocking manner, and Lorenz chuckled.

"Why, even a creature lacking slightly in intelligence such as that cheetah has the audacity to mock you. My goodness, how the supposedly mighty have fallen..."

"That's right, you tell him..." Hunter's face would eventually sank, after he heard what Lorenz had to say. "...wait, what did you say about me lacking in intelligence? Could you repeat that?"

Hunter: Hey, I'm not that dumb! I'm a pretty smart cat! Wanna know how smart I am? My birthday is on April 22, 1975! Not that many people know that, I'm sure. Probably because I never really told anyone...except Elora. And the Professor. And maybe even Zoe, if she was around. Fairies like her are always around. Bona fide stalkers...

"May I interest you in a tea party, with other high-class individuals like ourselves?" Lorenz asked Peach, knowing just the thing to reel in the princess. "We shall drink from the finest of teacups and eat the loveliest of scones, and have banter while marvelously displaying proper etiquette!"

"Hey Spyro...this guy seems pretty full of himself," Hunter whispered to the dragon, who came over to the cheetah. Spyro had his eye on Lorenz, figuring that the nobleman was up to no good.

"Yeah, I was just about to say the same thing," Spyro whispered back; great minds think alike. Peach was slowly mulling over Lorenz's offer. "If there was ever an award for 'Most Snobby Aristocrat', he'd win by a landslide!"

"I would love to attend this lovely tea party," Peach told Lorenz, her mind made up; Mario felt defeated as he fell down to his knees. "Depending on whoever else will be in attendance, that is."

"Do not fear, Princess Peach, for we shall be joined by the best hosts around," Lorenz assured the princess, as Mario felt like punching the air...and punching Lorenz, square in the face. "Alm, Berkut, and their wives will grace the table, while Bowser, Ganondorf, King Dedede, and K. Rool will flaunt their royalty as they please. Princess Daisy will delight herself with the swell aroma of tea..."

"Daisy is gonna be there? That's all I needed to know!" Peach was now fully on-board with the tea party, and now there was nothing Mario could do that would change his wife's mind. "Where will this tea party be?"

"At the tower balcony - the Black Knight will entreat us with the tea he so elegantly brewed, and the scones will be scrumptious, I'm sure. Come along now, Princess Peach - we have no time to waste!"

"Then let's go going!" So Peach would leave the house, before looking back at the despondent Mario. "I'll be over at the tea party, Mario - I'll see you later!"

"Catch-a you on the flippity flip..." Mario waved to Peach, who waved back before following Lorenz to the tower. Mario stood back up, and was frowning as he punched the air aggressively.

"Great, now Mario's punching the air, just like Yang..." frowned Hunter, who was fearing for his safety. Like Mario and Yang would gang up on the cheetah and beat him to oblivion. "...all this shadowboxing needs to stop."

"Pretty sure Mario is just ticked off with Lorenz," Spyro told Hunter, and once Mario was done punching the air like a madman, the plumber tightened his fists. "You're not gonna beat up Lorenz and get Peach back, Mario...are you?"

"Spyro, Hunter...you two get-a that Christmas tree out of my house," Mario told the dragon and cheetah, seething; Spyro and Hunter glanced at one another, with the latter shrugging his shoulders. "I have a tea party to monitor..."

"Mario, can we not?" Ruby called out to the plumber, remaining near the screen door, as a determined Mario angrily marched out the front door. Upon leaving his house, Mario ran into his twin brother, Luigi.

"Ah, just the man I needed to see!" gleamed Luigi, when he saw Mario. He dared not to ask why Mario was looking so angry for, just to protect himself from harm. "That Lorenz from-a the Golden Deer enticed Daisy to attend some-a fancy tea party!"

"Lorenz convinced-a Peach to do the same," stated Mario, who was keen with the idea of him and Luigi working together to put Lorenz in his place. "Who does he think-a he is, huh? Some kind of playboy?"

"Yeah, what's-a up with that? I think we should-a teach this Lorenz a lesson..." Luigi punched his fist into the palm of his hand, and Mario was really enjoying where things would be headed.

"Affirmative. Why don't we work-a together, and send that Lorenz packing?" Mario held out his hand, and Luigi was more than quick to shake it.

"That Lorenz will-a be crying to his mommy lickity split!" The Mario Bros were about to gang up on a nobleman, all because he invited their waves to a tea party...but at least they were determined!


Golden Deer member Leonie had a very competitive streak about her, and because of that she wished to compete against the residents at just about anything. The commoner was in the table tennis room, playing some table tennis against Ness.

"Look at her go..." Cloud said to Link, the two swordsmen playing table tennis against one another. They had to put their match on pause, just so they could watch Leonie destroy Ness at table tennis.

"What's wrong, Ness, can't take the heat?" Leonie asked the PSI whiz, who was unable to keep up with the commoner. Every serve Ness delivered made him more and more sweaty.

"I can take the heat...it's just that this table we're playing on is too tall for me," responded Ness, who was making up a variety of excuses on the fly. "I feel like I'm at a very huge disadvantage."

"Quite your whining, play harder!" Poo shouted out to Ness, him and Paula being the only spectators. Poo was motivating Ness as if he was his table tennis coach.

"Give it your all!" Paula encouraged Ness, wanting to see her best friend pull out a victory. Mustering all the strength in his body, Ness reached across the far end of the table to serve the ball back to Leonie...

...only for Leonie to serve the ball right back, and it send it flying past Ness. And with that, Leonie secured victory over Ness in table tennis.

"And that should do it!" grinned Leonie, relishing in her victory as she pumped her fist. Ness collapsed to the floor out of exhaustion, as Paula and Poo came over to the PSI whiz.

"I might've lost to Leonie...but I've won...in my heart," panted Ness, as Paula patted her friend on his chest. Poo, on the other hand, was looking like an angry soccer mom who had witnessed her child lose a close game.

Ness: I only have hand-eye coordination in baseball. I know, it's kinda weird. When it comes to other sports...that's a much different story.

"You did a great job out there, Ness!" Paula smiled at Ness, before looking up at the still salty Poo. "Don't you think so, Poo?" Poo clearly thought otherwise, as he folded his arms and turned his head in disappointment.

"It's never a great job unless victory is accrued," stated Poo, who looked ready to shun Ness for an entire week just for losing a table tennis match. Link and Cloud were both impressed by Leonie, and both swordsman now had a taste of the commoner's competitive side.

"Gotta admit, she's really good at table tennis," Cloud said to Link, easily the most impressed he's ever been in what seemed like an eternity. "Even you have to agree with that, Link."

"Eh, I'll give her props, she's not bad...for a woman," responded Link; Leonie, overhearing Link, gave the Hylian an offended look. "She's better than most folks I've seen in the past."

"Not bad for a woman, huh?" Leonie furrowed her brow as she confronted Link, with her hands on her hips. "Wanna say that to my face?"

"I find this conversation to be highly ironic - considering that you have a boy haircut and all. Are you really that desperate to make people think you're a tomboy?"

"Says the guy who wears a funny tunic all the time..." Insulted, Link looked down at his tunic, before looking back up at Leonie and frowning.

"Oh yeah? You think that wearing this thing makes me look like a girl? That's rich, coming from you and your boyish-hair self!"

"Link, can we not get into a huge argument with one of our visitors?" Cloud exasperatedly asked the Hylian, who was finding himself in the groove. Link really wanted to put Leonie down under for good.

"Tell you what - how about I cream you at table tennis?" Leonie proposed to Link, giving the Hylian an offer that he simply could not refuse. At least during the heat of the moment. "I can show you how good I am, even if I am a girl!"

"You're on, although you're the one who's gonna get creamed!" Link agreed to Leonie's challenge, as Cloud was taken back by how fast things were escalating. "But you know what, I'll do you one better...you'll have to go up against me AND my man Cloud!"

"Just couldn't leave me out of this, huh?" Cloud sighed at Link - the swordsman just wanted to be a spectator, and watch Link lose in epic fashion and receive his just desserts.

"So you want me to obliterate the both of you...if that's what you really want, then you're on!" With the two-on-one table tennis match settled, Link and Leonie both went their separate ways, as Ness, Paula, and Poo looked on.

"This is bound to get real ugly..." Ness said to Paula and Poo, fearing how much worse things could possibly get between Link and Leonie - with poor Claude being dragged through the charade.


Just like any regular dog, Koromaru had to get his nutrients and protein in, so he could be a healthy canine. Yukari and Teddie were in the kitchen, feeding Koromaru some protein-rich dog food.

"Eat up, buddy!" Teddie said to Koromaru as he petted the shiba inu, who was eating the dog food in his bowl. "Keep eating that dog food, and you'll become strong, like a chupacabra!"

"That would be highly impossible, Teddie..." Yukari told the young man, as a fellow with glasses entered the kitchen unnoticed. "...a shiba inu like Koromaru can't just morph into some goat-eating monster!"

"While that may be true, chupacabras are dog-like creatures, and nothing can prove me otherwise! Regardless of the facts that may be presented in front of me."

"Sorry if I'm interrupting, but have you two seen Raphael anywhere?" the fellow with glasses asked Yukari and Teddie, who looked up and saw Golden Deer member Ignatz standing at the kitchen entrance. "Haven't seen him anywhere..."

"Hi Ignatz! Raphael is in the dining room, with Pit and his friends," Yukari informed Ignatz, who knew exactly what Raphael was doing in the dining room - especially with Pit and company involved. "They've been quite busy over there!"

"Don't tell me Raphael's eating food out of the pantry..." Furrowing his brow, Ignatz rushed to the dining room, and his concerns were soon realized as he saw Raphael taking food out of the pantry, with Pit, Kirby, and Incineroar helping out.

"I had no idea there was so much delicious grub in the pantry!" remarked Raphael, pulling down a bag of chocolate pretzels from one of the pantry shelves. Ignatz was watching from a couple of feet away, with his hands on his head. "Chocolate pretzels, come to papa!"

"Ah, so that's where the chocolate pretzels were!" smiled Pit, after he saw Raphael grab the bag of pretzels from a top shelf. "Cilan always puts the good stuff at the very top, for some reason. He's always trying to tease us, man!"

"Raphael what are you doing, why are you stealing food from the pantry?!" Ignatz shouted at the commoner, grabbing his attention as well as the attention of Pit and the others. "You didn't even ask for permission to use the pantry!"

"I asked Pit for permission, does that count?" Disgusted with Raphael's appetite-influenced behavior, Ignatz frowned and pinched the crown of his nose. "Cut me some slack, Ignatz, I'm hungry!"

"That I understand, but the pantry should be off-limits. There is a reason why Cilan put all that food in the pantry. He wishes to save it for a later time!"

"Yeah, just so he could tease us!" stated Pit, having a strong disdain for Cilan that he never really had before. "And we're gonna get our revenge on him, by eating that cheesecake over there!"

"What cheesecake?" wondered Ignatz, before he looked at the dining room table and saw a cheesecake - the third consecutive five-layered cake that Cilan had baked, prepared, and decorated. "Oh dear...you're going to eat that cheesecake?"

"We had planned on eating that cheesecake before we raided the pantry," explained Raphael, who just couldn't wait to get his hands on the cheesecake. The commoner was a fan of Cilan's cooking, and anyone's cooking in general...including Palutena's. "But now, we seem more...determined."

Ignatz: I've heard stories from the Black Eagles and Blue Lions about Cilan and his woes - about how his first cheesecake was stolen, and how the second cheesecake was devoured by a Pokemon. Not trying to spread a bad omen, but with the Golden Deer's presence, I fear that Cilan's third cheesecake - if he even has the willpower to make another one, that is - will be met with a terrible fate...

"Isn't that Cilan's third cheesecake?" asked Ignatz, not wishing for Cilan to become incensed...granted the connoisseur had never been that incensed before. "Shouldn't we leave it alone?"

"Third's time the charm, amirite?" asked Pit, to which Ignatz did not wish to agree with. "That must mean that this third cheesecake might be the best cheesecake Cilan has never made!"

"Cilan must've put a bit more oomph into that cheesecake, after what happened the past two weeks," assumed Raphael, as he was busy imagining how great the cheesecake must taste. "We'll be the first ones to taste it!"

"No, I won't allow it to happen!" Ignatz said sternly, putting himself in a very uncompromising position. He was never the one to stand up for anything. "Cilan put his heart, mind, and soul into that cake, and you wish to eat it before he gives you the chance?"

"I mean, someone's gotta eat that cake eventually..." responded Pit, before he and the others resumed raiding the pantry. "...c'mon boys, let's finish our raid so we can enjoy that cheesecake!"

"I have to do something...the state of Cilan's cheesecake depends on it!" Ignatz left the dining room, putting himself in an even more uncompromising position. Very rarely did Ignatz fight for something, like he was doing right now.


Lorenz was on the tower balcony, enjoying his tea party with the guests he invited - Peach, Daisy, Bowser, Ganondorf, King Dedede, King K. Rool, Alm, Celica, Berkut, and Rinea. While Berkut resented having to share the same table as Alm, everyone else was mostly chill.

"The quality of a tea party can always be determined by the expressive taste of the tea," stated Lorenz, while the Black Knight was pouring up a cup of tea for the astute nobleman. "The flavor of this tea, its magnificent fragrance, and its hue...all of it is in perfect harmony."

"Thank you very much, Lorenz, I do my best!" the Black Knight thanked the nobleman, who smiled before sipping from his cup of tea. Daisy couldn't help but roll her eyes at Lorenz and his noble behavior.

"Bet this guy enjoys the smell of his own farts..." Daisy murmured to Peach, who herself was trying to keep a very open mind during the tea party. It was impossible for Peach to say anything negative when it came to tea parties.

"Wouldn't the rest of you say that this tea party has been exquisite?" Lorenz asked his party guests, looking around the table before his eyes were set upon Bowser. "King Bowser, you are quite a man of culture...you would have to say that this party has far exceeded your expectations."

"Well this tea party has been...uh...um..." said Bowser, unsure of what to say as he twiddled with his fingers. Everyone was looking at the koopa king, interested in what he had to say.

"Get on with it, Bowser, we're waiting..." Ganondorf said to the koopa king, who was left in even more pressure as sweat ran down his face. Eventually Bowser cracked, as he slammed his fist on the table.

"Dang it! I don't know how to fully express myself unless through anger or personal attack." That seemed...pretty on-brand for Bowser, all things considered.

"Alright then...what do you think of the tea party, Ganondorf?" Lorenz asked the demon lord, while Bowser was starting to hate himself. "To be sitting here among guests similar to your noble caliber must be a positive for you."

"Guess you could say that...although some people shouldn't be allowed to be here," replied Ganondorf as he looked at King Dedede, who was scarfing down the scones like a madman. King Dedede stopped, when he saw Ganondorf staring at him.

"This is how people in royalty eat at Dream Land," the fat penguin explained, before wiping away the crumbs from his mouth. "We have our very own etiquette."

Ganondorf: "We have our very own etiquette"...what a bunch of malarkey. Ah, but who am I kidding? Dream Land doesn't even have actual royalty anyways. King Dedede being an actual king is nothing but a fraud.

The Mario Bros were huddled together at the balcony door, watching the tea party go down. They couldn't hear much of the conversation, but their goal was still - to take out Lorenz, and get their wives back.

"Just look at him, he's not all that..." Cappy seethed as he looked at Lorenz, sharing the same disdain for the nobleman as the Mario Bros did. "...the guy think he's hot stuff, well I think he's ice cold!"

"Dang straight, Cappy!" exclaimed Mario, unnerved that Peach had the audacity to laugh along with Lorenz like she was doing right now. "Lorenz is obviously bad-a news - his attitude stinks, his breath-a stinks, and his haircut is garbage."

"Hot-a garbage, you mean," Luigi corrected his twin brother, as he observed how uninterested Daisy was in the tea party. Daisy didn't bother hiding her lack of interest either. "How does he expect-a to find a woman with that atrocity on-a his head?"

"That's what I want to know..." a voice responded from behind the Mario Bros, who were both spooked as the jumped and turned around. Expecting to see Ashley, the Mario Bros instead were met with the youngest member of the Golden Deer, Lysithea.

"Oh, it's just you, Lysithea..." Mario said to the magic prodigy, who was smiling warmly as the plumber and Luigi caught their breath. "...you sure know how to give-a someone a heart attack!"

"My apologies for scaring you both. I just couldn't help but eavesdrop on what you were saying about Lorenz. I take it that he has wronged you both?"

"That man took-a our wives, and invited them to his dumb-a tea party," Luigi explained to Lysithea as he pointed at Peach and Daisy; the former looked like she wanted to be at the tea party, whereas the latter was far from that notion. "Didn't even invite-a us!"

"Only because you're both plumbers..." Lysithea, perfectly understanding why Mario and Luigi were both upset, looked down and nodded his head. "...Lorenz loves nothing more than to be sitting around with 'worthy' people."

"How are we gonna get-a our wives back?" questioned Mario, who couldn't bear to see Lorenz's tea party going on any longer. "Poor Peach and-a Daisy, they must feel so miserable!"

"I can make them leave by messing around with Lorenz's tea party...with the help of some magic." Lysithea summoned some magic from her hand, as the Mario Bros looked intrigued. "They don't call me a magic prodigy for nothing..."

"In that case, we'll let you sabotage-a the tea party," Mario said to Lysithea, giving the noblewoman the freedom to do whatever she pleased. "We'll just-a follow your lead, if needed!"


Claude was resting on Master Hand's bed, taking a break from charming people and stuff. Since Master Hand had some important obligations to fulfill, the giant hand left Isabelle with Claude, to keep the nobleman company.

"I'm surprised that a man as charming and handsome as you hasn't settled down with a woman yet," Isabelle said to Claude, as she was drawing some doodles on her clipboard to pass the time.

"Ladies come and go, but my charm is forever everlasting," grinned Claude, folding his arms behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. Isabelle just nodded, unsure of what to make of Claude's profound statement.

"You must be really tired from having to charm people all the time. I could just only imagine how hard that would be, if I were in your shoes!"

"I can say this...it's a thing that only a handful of people can master." Claude would sit up on Master Hand's bed, feeling rather thirsty. "Isabelle, can you get someone to fix me a cup of tea? If it's not too much trouble for you."

"I'll call someone with Master Hand's phone." Isabelle grabbed the phone off of Master Hand's dresser, ready to dial a number. "Who do you want me to call?"

"Anyone will do. But whoever you call...tell them that I want Hilda to fix my cup of tea for me." Claude sounded very stern, as he made his command.

"Ooh, why Hilda? Is it because she makes the best tea, I assume?" Claude chuckled lightly at Isabelle's question, as he brushed back his hair.

"Well, that...and also because I want to test her. We'll get to see if she passes or not..."


Hilda was preoccupied at the moment, for she was at the Pokemon sanctuary with Sonic, Amy, and Shaymin. The noblewoman was very enthralled by Shaymin, as she as petting the gratitude Pokemon.

"Isn't she the cutest thing or what?" Amy asked Hilda, who nodded her head while Sonic sat from a distance and looked on with disgust.

"Really wish I could take her with me to Fodlan," remarked Hilda; she wouldn't dare to take Shaymin anywhere, under sonic's watch. "She could be the mascot of the Golden Deer!"

"I'm spunky AND adorable!" proclaimed Shaymin, who relished in being the center of attention. It was something that Sonic was particularly fond of, at times.

"Shut up, you're only making things worse..." Sonic murmured to Shaymin, before he received a phone call. The hedgehog glanced at the caller ID, gulping nervously when he saw Master Hand's name before answering the call. "...hello, Master Hand?"

"Hi Sonic, it's me, Isabelle!" answered Isabelle, as Sonic sighed in relief knowing that he would live another day. "Kinda filling in for Master Hand. Is Hilda around?"

"Yeah Hilda's here, she's hanging out in the Pokemon sanctuary." Hearing her name mentioned, Hilda looked up at Sonic. "She won't stop petting my Shaymin..."

"Well you won't have to worry about Hilda petting Shaymin any longer, since she has a favor to fulfill. Claude wants her to fix him some tea.

"Fix him some tea, eh?" Sonic smirked as he looked at Hilda, who saw her smile turn completely upside down. "I'll make sure to let her know!"

"Great! Thank you, Sonic!" And with that, Sonic ended the call, as he put his phone away and smirked even harder at Hilda.

"Looks like Claude wants you to make him some tea, Hilda. Which means that you have to stop petting Shaymin! Hand me back my Pokemon!"

"Guess I have no choice in the matter..." sighed Hilda as she stood up...before letting out a sneeze. "ACHOO! Aw phooey, I think I might be contagious..."

"Oh dear, that's not good!" fretted Amy, as Sonic rolled his eyes. Only Sonic knew that Hilda was faking it, but Amy and Shaymin were apparently convinced.

"Does that mean I'm allergy-prone?" worried Shaymin, who was now acting like she was bringing about the bubonic plague. "Master Hand is gonna put me out of the mansion for good, isn't he?"

Ignatz: Many of my fellow students have taken the bait for Hilda faking stuff, whenever she tries to save herself from doing work. I have taken the bait myself...several times of purpose.

"Shaymin you're not allergy-prone, Hilda is faking it," Sonic told the gratitude Pokemon, as Hilda let out another fake sneeze. And a cough for good measure. "She's trying to save herself from doing actual work!"

"How could you say that, Sonic?" Amy scolded her boyfriend, as Hilda let out one more fake sneeze. Hilda rubbed her nose, as Amy comforted her. "All that petting you did must've made you sick, Hilda!"

"I didn't even know I had allergies until now..." moaned Hilda, letting out a few fake coughs as Sonic threw his arms up in defeat. "...at this point, I might be too contagious to fix Claude's tea!"

"That's okay, Sonic here can do it for you." Sonic objected this mightily, but that didn't stop Amy from giving the hedgehog a stern look. "Isn't that right, Sonic?"

"Hilda is a con artist, don't let her trick you..." Sonic warned Amy, before Hilda let out the biggest fake sneeze she could muster. The look Amy was giving to Sonic grew even sterner. "...fine, I'll fix Claude his stupid cup of tea."

"And don't low-ball him with the sugar!" Amy said to Sonic, who left the sanctuary feeling all sorts of ticked off with Hilda. Hilda will get what was coming to her soon.


Fox, Falco, Marianne, and the idol singers were now at Tokyo, ready for the concert. Itsuki and Touma, who made an early trip to Tokyo on Sunday, were responsible for making some preparations, such as setting up the concert stage and selling tickets. With the concert beginning soon, there was quite a crowd already at the concert stage, which Marianne saw before retreating backstage.

"I, um, really shouldn't be here, I might bring forth misfortune to your concert," the noblewoman spoke with Fox and Falco backstage, the two pilots hanging around with Itsuki and Touma. "What if the stage collapses?"

"The only way the stage would collapse is if there are any bad weather conditions," replied Fox, who was unsure of why Marianne was acting like some kind of back luck charm. "And if we were in Indiana. Fortunately, no such conditions exist."

"I'm sorry but...what does having a concert in Indiana have to do with anything?" questioned Marianne, as Fox directed his attention to Itsuki and Touma. Both men looked tired, after all the hard work they been through.

"Itsuki, Touma...the idol singers are ready to go. They were up all night rehearsing their songs and everything. Everything is a go!"

"Let's hope that this concert will be one for the ages," remarked Itsuki, as he bumped fists with Fox and Falco. Marianne didn't like how Itsuki and the others were acting so confident. "I'll be the one to kick things off."

"You're the man, Itsuki!" exclaimed Falco, smacking Itsuki on the butt as the young man walked away. Itsuki frowned, and looked back at Falco. "...I did that as a huge sign of respect. Real recognizing real!"

"Please don't do that ever again..." Itsuki would keep on walking, before he was now standing on the stage in front of a raucous crowd.

"Whoops, forgot to give him a mic..." said Touma, before fetching a microphone and tossing it to Itsuki, who caught it miraculously with one hand.

"Welcome, everyone, to our first ever Star Records concert!" Itsuki spoke into the microphone and addressed the crowd, who responded with cheers and applause. "Hope you are all doing well this morning."

"Isn't 9 A.M. a bit too early to be having a concert in Japan?" Falco asked Touma, while Itsuki continued to address the crowd.

"Does it look like I'm in charge of the time zones here?" responded Touma, before letting out a yawn and stretching out his arms. "Being back in Japan has thrown my sleeping schedule out of wack..."

"And why is Itsuki addressing the crowd in English, I thought Japanese was his native tongue. Aren't all the people in attendance Japanese?"

"Look at you, bringing logic and reason to a musical concert...just let loose and have fun like everyone else, man!"

"Without further ado, the first act...everyone give a warm welcome for Tsubasa Oribe and Eleonora Yumizuru!" exclaimed Itsuki, as he exited stage left. The crowd was cheering and applauding, as Tsubasa and Eleonora walked unto the stage ready to sing.

"So far so good..." said Marianne as Itsuki returned to the backstage area, knowing that something bad would inevitably happen during the concert. Fox would try to dispel Marianne's worry, by wrapping his arm around the noblewoman.

"Just sit back and enjoy the show, and all your worries will vanish away," Fox said to Marianne, as Tsubasa and Eleonora started to sing. "Music always soothes the soul, if you ask me."

Fox: I didn't bring Marianne to Tokyo just so she could enjoy the concert - I brought her here so she would stop being such a worrywart. Acting all like, "Oh no, woe is me, everyone is gonna freaking die because of me!" Getting real sick and tired of that crap. She literally won't even use a restroom in Tokyo, given how paranoid she is.

Hanging around backstage was Bass, who teleported Fox and company to Tokyo via the teleportation device and was responsible for teleporting everyone back safe and sound. The robot was hanging at the furthermost part of the backstage area, near some carts.

"psst, bass, is the coast clear?" a voice whispered to the robot, who saw how Fox and company only had their focus on Tsubasa and Eleonora's performance and nothing else.

"Yeah the coast is clear, you two can come out now," Bass whispered back, as Sans and Skull Kid climbed out of one of the carts they were hiding in without making much noise. Skull Kid had to help out Sans, since the skeleton was too short to escape.

"it's go time baby..." Sans was rubbing his hands together, undecided on where he and Skull Kid should start first. "...should we sabotage the performers first, skull kid? or what about the stage?"

"The performers, they're easier to sabotage," replied Skull Kid, wanting to humiliate Tsubasa and Eleonora in front of a record crowd. "If we can find a way to cut off their mics, then we're golden!"

"Just so you guys know, I'm not liable for whatever sabotaging you're up to," Bass informed Sans and Skull Kid, letting them know that he wouldn't be a partaker in the duo's shenanigans. "I'm just here to ensure that everyone gets back home...if you both get caught, then that's on you."

"understood," Sans nodded his head as he and Skull Kid sneaked away, ensuring that they were unseen by Fox and company. "thanks anyway, for sneaking us here."


Since the Star Records concert was strictly for the idol singers only, other members such as Knuckles and Little Mac were left out. Another one of the left out members was Ribbon Girl, who was forced to be witness of Villager's ever-growing sea bass collection.

"This is the Patagonian toothfish, which is a deep-sea predator found in cold water," Villager showed off the Patagonian toothfish to Ribbon Girl in the lounge, as Ribbon Girl was so bored she was almost falling asleep. "People call it the Chilean sea bass, just so gullible people would buy it. And quite frankly, I'm one of those gullible people!"

"Villager, can you do me a HUGE favor, and present your sea bass collection to someone else?" Ribbon Girl asked the young lad, before letting out a big yawn. "Someone who would actually care?" Villager just gave Ribbon Girl a blank look, blinking his eyes.

"...and this right here is the micropterus henshalli, which is better known as the Alabama bass," Villager showed off the next piece of his sea bass collection, as Ribbon Girl slumped on the couch she was sitting on and slowly drifted asleep. "It can have up to 84 pored lateral-line scales, but it can have 71 more!"

"Pardon me, but have you two seen Cilan anywhere?" asked Ignatz as he entered the lounge, as Ribbon Girl suddenly perked up. "His cheesecake is in grave danger..."

"Cilan might still be over at the tower with Chef Kawasaki; I'll see if he's still busy," Villager said as he put his sea bass away; if Cilan was giving Chef Kawasaki some cooking tips, then Kawasaki better be taking them to heart.

"Thank you very much, Villager," Ignatz thanked the young lad, who left the lounge. Ribbon Girl was relieved, now that Villager was gone.

"You are a lifesaver..." the pop singer said to Ignatz, who smiled meekly as he rubbed the back of his head. "...you have no idea how annoying that kid was."

"My life-saving skills can be...quite incidental, at times." Ignatz slowly began to turn around...only to jump back in fright when he saw Raphael, who had shown up a couple of seconds ago.

"Hey Ignatz, how's it going buddy?" Raphael greeted the commoner, who let out a high-pitched scream. A scream that Ignatz wasn't too particularly fond of. "Sorry for scaring you like that. Anyways, me and the boys are about to eat Cilan's cake. You want in?"

"N-No thanks, I'm not that hungry right now..." Raphael didn't buy Ignatz's excuse, as the big guy laughed and gave Ignatz a playful nudge.

"Aw c'mon, you gave me that same ol' excuse the last time I invited you out for lunch! tell you what - since you're my best pal, I'll save you a big slice of cheesecake. How does that sound?"

"That doesn't sound very ideal..." Ignatz didn't want to eat the cheesecake - he just didn't want anyone consuming it until Cilan gave permission. Especially given everything Cilan had to endure the past few weeks.

"So you want a smaller slice then? If that's what you want, then I'll oblige. We haven't cut the cake yet, so if you ever change your mind, then let me know as soon as possible!"

"Uh, sure thing Raphael..." And with that, Raphael returned to the dining room, as Ignatz was more panicky than ever. One slice cut from that cheesecake, and Cilan would go absolutely bonkers.

"I'll make sure nobody touches that cake," Ribbon Girl said to Ignatz, as she got up off the couch. Ignatz's panic went away, as the commoner smiled at Ribbon Girl. "Knowing how Cilan's been acting lately, he'd lose his marbles if this third cheesecake was harmed again."

"I greatly appreciate it!" Ignatz said to Ribbon Girl, knowing that the pop singer could get the job done. And she had the ARMS to do it, too. "You are a lifesaver!"

"Hey, I'm just returning the favor..." Ribbon Girl got her game face on, as she departed from the lounge. "...I'll whip those boys into shape!"


The table tennis match - Leonie vs Link and Cloud - was turning out to be...less than stellar, at least for Link and Cloud. The two swordsmen, playing on one side of the tennis table, were getting destroyed by Leonie.

"Here it comes!" shouted Leonie, as she sent the tennis ball flying to the other side of the table. Link and Cloud both reached for the ball with their paddles, only to collide against one another with their heads. "And she scores! Leonie takes another one!"

"No fair, that match was rigged!" frowned Link, now making unnecessary excuses as he threw his paddle on the floor in frustration. "Best out of five, let's do it!"

Leonie: Link was super salty after I bested him and Cloud in table tennis - so much, that he challenged me to another match! A best out of three! Poor guy will never learn, will he?

Link: I don't care how many times I lose to Leonie - just beating her once will send a message, and put that woman in her place. I'll have to beat her in a best out of nine series if I have to! *pauses* Has there ever been a best out of nine, in any sport, ever?

Cloud: *sighs deeply* I'm always the one that gets dragged into whatever mess Link finds himself in...and I'm always the one that has to pull him out of said mess.

The third table tennis match was about to begin soon, as Cloud and Leonie were ready to get things over with. Link had left the room temporarily, and later came back with some duct tape.

"What's with the duct tape, Link?" Cloud asked the Hylian, who used the duct tape to tape his right wrist and Cloud's left wrist together. "What are you doing?!"

"The reason why we lost to Leonie twice is because we weren't uniting our minds, to become one," explained Link, as he was taping his and Cloud's wrists together. Leonie couldn't help but laugh. "Taping our wrists together will help us achieve that goal...somewhat."

"Maybe the REAL reason why you keep losing to Leonie is because you're in over your head. If you really want to send a message to Leonie, you should try to beat her alone, by yourself."

"You just don't want to play with me, don't you? I thought you were my friend, Cloud..." Soon Link was done taping his and Cloud's wrists together, tossing the roll of duct tape unto the floor. "...and viola! We're good to go."

"You're only gonna make yourselves look worse in defeat!" Leonie called out to Link and Cloud, as Link refused to believe the commoner. "I'll let you two serve the ball first - see if you're really 'united in one mind'."

"We'll show you..." So Link grabbed the tennis ball, and tried to hit it with his paddle. But as the Hylian brought his hand forward...something caused him to pull his hand back. And that something was Cloud's own hand.

"Sorry Link, but I don't think this is such a good idea," Cloud apologized to the Hylian, who was looking at the swordsman like he was out of his mind. "One of us could get seriously hurt doing this."

"I'm gonna seriously hurt you if you don't get with the program! How are we gonna beat Leonie together, if you insist on resisting our efforts?"

"Are you two gonna bicker, or are we gonna play some table tennis?" Leonie asked Link and Cloud, tapping her foot impatiently. She wanted to hand the two swordsman their loss soon.

"We're resuming play..." Link would serve the ball, and Cloud would not pull his wrist back like he did the first time around. Leonie struck the ball, sending it over to the right, and Link would reach for the ball as he and Cloud fell unto the floor.

"Ow, my leg!" Cloud winced in pain, as he and Link struggled to get back up on their feet. "Seriously Link, we should stop, we're holding each other back."

"If anyone is holding us back, it's you...you knew that I would move to my right, and yet you just stood there!"

"Maybe if you hadn't moved so quickly, then we wouldn't have fallen. How do you expect me to keep up?"

"Here we go again, with the bickering..." Leonie shook her head, as Zelda passed by the table tennis room. The princess looked inside and saw Link and Cloud on the floor, wondering what was up.

"Link? Cloud? Why are you two on the floor?" questioned Zelda as she ran inside the table tennis room, kneeling at Link and Cloud's side. "And why are your wrists taped together?"

"Cloud here is trying to hold us back, in our table tennis match against Leonie," Link explained to Zelda, who offered to help the Hylian and Cloud up on their feet. "He doesn't want us to win!"

"That doesn't explain why you and Cloud have your wrists taped together. Which, admittedly, is pretty stupid if you ask me."

"They're trying to be 'in one mind', or something stupid like that," Leonie said to Zelda, as she folded her arms. "I already defeated them twice in table tennis."

"In that case, they should've stop playing...unless Link let his ego get in the way of things. Always hate it when that happens."

"Oh, and speaking of Link, he claimed that I was pretty good at table tennis...for a woman." Zelda looked at Leonie in disbelief, before frowning at Link.

"Is this true, Link?" the princess asked the Hylian, who was laughing nervously; Cloud smirked, wondering how Link could possibly pull his own self out of the mess he now found himself in. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Women are...great at table tennis?" replied Link as he smiled sweetly and innocently, certain that Zelda would chew him out later. Cloud couldn't possibly save the Hylian this time around.


Tsubasa and Eleonora were finished singing their duet, and now Kiria and Mamori were onstage singing a duet of their own. Meanwhile, Sans and Skull Kid were lurking around the concert premises, searching for an electrical box.

"too bad we couldn't cut the cord backstage," Sans said to Skull Kid; the two had to relocate outside, out of the fear of potentially being caught. "everyone's gonna be in for a major shock when we turn off all the power at the concert."

"Would be great if we somehow turned off all the power throughout Tokyo," snarled Skull Kid, before he saw an electrical box from a distance. The imp pointed at it. "There it is!"

"sweet! let's bust that thing to smithereens." So Sans and Skull Kid ran over to the electrical box, as a certain woman showed up at the scene.

"Pardon me, but have you two seen Mr. Itsuki Aoi around?" the woman asked Sans and Skull Kid, who stopped in their tracks and looked at the woman. "Or Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi?"

"We have seen them around...somewhere," replied Skull Kid, who was too hesitant to give the woman a definite answer. Didn't trust her enough. "And you are?"

"Maiko Shimazaki..." The woman, Maiko Shimazaki, adjusted her glasses as she displayed a very professional aura around herself. "...former head of Fortuna Entertainment. I'm here to reclaim my talent, which is why I have to speak with Star Records."

"If you're looking for Fox, Falco, and Itsuki...they're at that concert, hanging around backstage." Maiko looked over at the concert, grimacing when she saw Kirira and Mamori performing. Those two should be performing for Fortuna Entertainment!"

"Very well then...I must have a word with them." A now determined Maiko marched over to the concert, wanting to get back her idol singers one way or another.

"she sounds like a very haughty person," Sans said to Skull Kid, before he and the imp made their way to the electrical box.


Lysithea: While Lorenz left momentarily from the tea party, I sneaked my way unto the balcony when nobody was looking and sprinkled some magic all over the table. Expect the tea party to turn awry pretty soon.
Luigi: Hey Lysithea! *walks over* What if we had-a this Polteageist at the tea party? *holds up Polteageist*
Lysithea: *jumps back in fear* Wh-What? Is that...a gh-ghost Pokemon?
Luigi: What's the matter? I thought that a little girl like yourself-a would like this Pokemon.
Lysithea: I would
like it more if you kept it away from me...I'm actually pretty afraid of ghosts.
Luigi: In that case, I'll put-a this Polteageist on the tea table. That should turn-a the tea party upside down!
Lysithea:
Also, did you just call me a "little girl"? *frowns*
Luigi: You're not gonna hold-a that against me...are you?

"I must say, Princess Peach, you sip your tea so elegantly!" Lorenz complimented the princess, who responded with a light-hearted giggle while Daisy rolled her eyes. "The manner in which one sips their tea is such an exemplary display of their truly refined character."

"What do you think of the way I sip my tea, Lorenz?" King K. Rool asked the nobleman, as he sipped his tea while holding his teacup without even using the handle. Lorenz had his lips pursed, thinking of an honest critique.

"Your form is less than stellar, and yet you still drink your tea in a rather precise manner...which in itself, represents your royal yet rugged style."

"What is this, are we having a tea party, or a tea-sipping competition?" questioned Berkut, who was resting his feet on the table. He better not get any dirt on the white tablecloth. "Which one is it?"

"Lighten up a little - can't be serious all the time," Celica told Berkut, before looking over at the Black Knight who was standing over the balcony fence. "Some more tea, please!"

"More tea, coming right up!" exclaimed the Black Knight, as he hurried over to the tea table and grabbed one of the teapots. "Allow me to see your...cup?"

To the Black Knight and everyone else's amazement, Celica's teacup was floating up in the air, as if it were magic. And it was very much magic...Lysithea's magic.

"Um...since when was this tea party haunted?" questioned Ganondorf, as all the teacups were floating in the air. The teacups were floating over Lorenz's head...and then dumped tea all over the nobleman.

"Ack!" Lorenz shrieked as he was soaked in tea, while Daisy let out a little laugh. Lorenz frowned, as the tea was dripping down from his clothes. "Why did that only happen to me?"

"That was pretty strange..." remarked the Black Knight as the teacups floated back down to the table, back to their original positions. "...let me try again, Celica. Maybe if I use a different teapot, nothing weird will happen!"

So the Black Knight put the original teapot back down on the table, and reached for a second teapot. But when he reached for the second teapot, the teapot seemingly came alive as a purple ghost came out from it.

"Polteageist!" shouted the creature inside the teapot, which was a Polteageist. The Black Knight took a step back, as Polteageist was floating in the air along with the now-haunted teacups.

"It's a Polteageist!" screamed King Dedede, simply stating the obvious, as Polteageist and the teacups hovered towards Lorenz. Lorenz got up out of his chair in fright, taking a few steps back.

"Why is this only happening to ME?!" the nobleman shouted as he ran inside the tower, running for his life as Polteageist and the teacups chased after Lorenz. Watching Lorenz being chased inside the tower were the Mario Bros, and Lysithea.

"Told-a you guys that Polteageist would do the trick..." Luigi said to Mario and Lysithiea, in an almost bragging manner. The green plumber was quite full of himself right now.

"Your magic really got the job-a done, Lysithea," Mario said the noblewoman, as the plumber enjoyed seeing Lorenz being chased around. "How long do you think-a the chase will last?"

"I'd give it a solid five minutes," replied Lysithea, who was able to hear Lorenz screaming for his life from down the hallway. "Lorenz tires out pretty easily."


Having delivered some tea to Claude, Sonic went back to Amy and Hilda, to see what the two ladies were up to. Amy and Hilda were now at the beauty salon, with Hilda testing out the salon's new hair dryers.

"Pretty redundant to use a hair dryer when you have two ponytails, huh?" Sonic asked Hilda, the hedgehog standing around with Amy. Sonic had to ask for permission to be inside the salon, like with any other male.

"They're called pigtails, Sonic..." Amy frowned at her man, slapping his arm for his profound ignorance. "...don't you know anything about hair?"

"I just have spikes for hair, so I can't really say that I do." Just then, Sonic received a call, and it was from Master Hand. "Hello, is this Isabelle?"

"Yep, it's me - hopefully I'm not calling at an inconvenient time," replied the person speaking on the phone, Isabelle. "Is Hilda around?"

"She's here in the beauty salon, using some dumb hair dryer. What, does Claude need another cup of tea or something?"

"No, Claude is satisfied with his tea. Said he's feeling kind of hungry right now...he wants Hilda to make him some lunch."

"He wants Hilda to make him some lunch?" Hilda turned off the hair dryer when she heard this, as she looked at Sonic. "Sounds easy enough for her."

"Just let her know that Claude will be expecting her. Okay, that's all!" Sonic would end the phone call, as Hilda looked for a way to get herself out of doing something as simple as fixing lunch.

"Claude wants you to prepare him some lunch, Hilda. So you better put that hair dryer away, and get to it!"

"Fine then..." sighed Hilda as she put the hair dryer away...and after she did, the noblewoman grabbed her head, and started rubbing it.

"Oh, what is it now?" Sonic was looking on with a frown, as Hilda began staggering a little. A few concerned ladies looking on, such as Chie and Wii Fit Trainer, came to Hilda's aid.

"I feel a headache coming on...like a migraine." Now obviously Hilda's head was feeling fine, but the noblewoman couldn't help but play up her fake ailment.

Wolf: Always remember, little children - whatever comes out of a woman's mouth is always the truth, no matter what. Unless they're posing as a sexual assault victim, and trying to get that bag. Then, and only then, should you lose a woman's trust.

"We need to escort her to the fitness center at once," Wii Fit recommended to Chie, as Sonic threw his arms up in disbelief. Hilda sure knew how to reap some sympathy from others. "She might be sensitive to light!"

"How can she, she wasn't sensitive to light before!" stated Sonic, the only person around who knew that Hilda was faking it. Felt like the smartest person in the mansion today.

"Don't you know how migraines work, Sonic?" Chie questioned to Sonic, who knew that the odds were against him if he argued back. "They can come out of nowhere, when you least expect it."

"That's right," agreed Amy, as Sonic couldn't believe that his own girlfriend would side with Chie. "Because Hilda isn't feeling well, I think that you should be the one to prepare lunch for Claude."

"Only doing this because I'm a nice guy..." sighed Sonic, as he left the beauty salon. Had he stuck around and argued with Amy and the other ladies, things would've got pretty ugly real quick...


The final act of the Star Records concert was performing onstage, as Yashiro was singing his heart out for the cheering crowd. Sans and Skull Kid had yet to sabotage the concert, as they couldn't find a way to destroy the electrical box.

"this electrical box is tough as nails..." remarked Sans, after his and Skull Kid's efforts to destroy the electrical box proved to be futile. "...i would feel pretty amped if we manage to break it."

"Can you stop it with those puns?" asked Skull Kid, who had grown increasingly annoyed with Sans over time. "Saying them isn't gonna..."

"Hey guys, can you come over for a sec?" asked Bass came over to Sans and Skull Kid, cutting off the latter. "There's some stuff going down backstage at the concert."

"What kind of stuff are you..." That's when Skull Kid suddenly remembered the conversation he and Sans had with Maiko earlier. "...why don't you just show us what's going on?"

So Bass led Sans and Skull Kid to the backstage area, where they saw Maiko arguing with Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and Touma. Marianne was standing from a distance, not wanting to involved herself in the ugly confrontation.

"Look, Maiko, we're not handing our clients back to you," Fox tried to set it straight with Maiko, with him and the others standing their ground. "They're with us now."

"I didn't get released from jail just to remain empty-handed, you know," stated Maiko, as Sans wished that he had some popcorn to munch on while the ordeal went down in front of him. "I came here to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"Maiko, let it go already...we've moved on," Itsuki pleaded to the former head of Fortuna Entertainment, speaking on behalf of himself, Touma, and the idol singers. "Can't you do the same?"

"No, those singers belong strictly to Fortuna Entertainment, and you know it! You dare turn your back on me and the company, for THEM?!" With heavy disdain, Maiko pointed aggressively at Fox and Falco...with the former picking his nose, and the latter scratching his butt.

"Huh, was she talking about us?" questioned Falco, as he and Fox stopped whatever they were doing. Maiko lowered her hand, but her angry look was still intact.

"It wasn't an easy choice for us to make," Touma did his best to reason with Maiko, knowing that it would probably get him nowhere. "We only left because of your drinking problem. We wanted to go somewhere else...somewhere more stable."

"But Itsuki was in my place while I was battling my own personal demons!" stated Maiko, recalling when Itsuki took over Fortuna Entertainment for the time being. "Everything was going smoothly..."

"Yeah, but we knew that we couldn't just run things while the head lady was off doing stuff. So when we went to Seattle on the hunt for some dragon, we met Fox and Falco and learned about Star Records and...well, the rest is history."

"Fortuna Entertainment deserves to see another day...and I'll be the one to make it happen." Taking a stand, Maiko marched unto the stage, while Yashiro was still singing his heart out.

"Miss Shimazaki, what are you doing?!" Touma and the others could only watch, as Maiko marched towards Yashiro and snatched the microphone away from him.

"M-Maiko Shimazaki?!" exclaimed Yashiro, acting as if he was seeing a ghost. The crowd was left confused, as Maiko stood in front of everyone.

"Hello, do I have everyone's attention?" Maiko addressed the crowd as she spoke into the microphone, while the music from the loudspeakers died down. "I hate to inform you all, but this Star Records concert...is cancelled."

The crowd was left stunned, as the spectators were murmuring among themselves. Maiko was dead serious about reclaiming the idol singers, it seemed like.

Sans: finally found the thingamajig that cuts off the sound...and it was perfect timing, too. now the crowd will be able to see maiko act like a crazy person without the music drowning out her voice. i'm no hero, but...

"I repeat, this concert is now cancelled," repeated Maiko, expecting the crowd to walk away in droves. But everyone was sticking around, confused as ever. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Miss Shimazaki, what are you even doing?" questioned Tsubasa, as she and the other idol singers joined Yashiro onstage to confront their former boss. "We were having such a great concert..."

"Starting today, all of you idol singers are coming with me, back to Fortuna Entertainment," Maiko told the idol singers - still speaking into the microphone so that the crowd would know. "We're going to rebuild Fortuna from the ground up!"

"But we like it at Star Records," explained Eleonora, although Maiko found that quite hard to believe. "Fox and Falco, while they may have their faults, are pretty awesome bosses. And they give us a lot of perks!"

"And we have more than just idol singers under our record label, too," added Kiria, giving a lowkey shout-out to Little Mac, Knuckles, and even Ribbon Girl. "So we have a little variety..."

"I couldn't care less about all this variety crap..." frowned Maiko, who found it insulting that the idol singers were having fun at Star Records. "...but what I do care about is starting Fortuna Entertainment back up, on the right foot."

"It's so weird seeing Miss Shimazaki act like this..." Mamori said to the other idol singers, despondent in seeing her former boss losing her marbles. Meanwhile, Fox and company were looking on, unsure of how to intervene.

"hey, marianne..." Sans, still hanging around backstage, whispered to the noblewoman who was still distancing herself. "...time for you to step up. this is your moment to shine."

"Um, step up in what way?" questioned Marianne, who had no idea how in the world she was gonna stop Maiko. "I'm sorry, but I'll only make things even worse."

"Only you believe in that sort of nonsense," Skull Kid said to Marianne, acting like her personal trainer as he grabbed the noblewoman's shoulders. "You won't know what you're capable of until you try!"

"Where are you taking me?" Marianne was being pushed closer to the stage by Skull Kid, with Sans following after him. Fox and the others saw Skull Kid and Sans, as Fox furrowed his brow.

"Sans? Skull Kid? The heck did you two make it here?" the pilot questioned, before looking back at Bass who was now standing alone by himself.

"...I honestly have no idea how they ended up in Tokyo," Bass shrugged, but everyone knew that he was the main culprit.

"now go out there and break a leg!" Sans encouraged Marianne, before Skull Kid shoved Marianne forward. The noblewoman was now standing onstage, as a few members in the crowd saw her.

"For months I've tried to restart Fortuna Entertainment," Maiko told the idol singers, as she was in the middle of some epic rant. "Tried to sign Donkey Kong of all people, as an idol singer!"

"That's cartoon DK and not real-life DK, but to each their own..." stated Yashiro, as Marianne was looking around the stage wondering what she should do.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Miss Shimazaki..." Kiria said to her former boss, stepping up to the forefront. "...but when you stepped down because of your alcoholic problems - did you use that as an excuse to pursue a modeling career?"

"I...I have no idea what you're talking about," replied Maiko, who was left perplexed by how Kiria knew this information. Unless Itsuki told her, in the past.

"Okay, Marianne, you can do this..." the noblewoman told herself as she took a deep breath...only to be interrupted by a gust of wind. The concert stage lights overhead were starting to dangle a little bit...

"Me wanting to pursue a modeling career, that was just a rumor." As Maiko was speaking with the idol singers, Marianne was inching closer towards the woman as the gust of wind made its presence known. "That's just gossip..."

"Hey, isn't that Marianne?" questioned Mamori, pointing at the noblewoman in question. Marianne froze and stopped in her tracks, as Maiko turned around and saw the noblewoman standing a few feet away.

"So...you plan on stopping me, don't you?" Maiko was now staring down Marianne, who felt like heading backstage to save her side. There was now a showdown of slightly epic proportions, as the wind blew and the rain started drizzling.

"Knew I should've checked the weather before the concert began..." sighed Itsuki, watching the droplets of rain pouring down. Hopefully those in the crowd had their umbrellas and whatnot.

"At least we're not having this concert in Indiana..." murmured Fox, as if having a concert in such a location was a bad omen of sorts.

"Um...please stop...whatever you doing?" Marianne commanded of Maiko, stepping up the best way she knew how. Maiko could only snort at Marianne's sorry attempt at stopping her.

"Nobody, not even you, is going to stop me from getting back my idol singers," Maiko vowed to Marianne, the wind blowing as the stage lights overhead were blowing in the wind. "Not you, not the pilots, not Itsuki, not Touma, and not even..."

Suddenly one of the stage lights came down, snapping from its cord due to the wind. Maiko looked up and saw the stage light descending towards her, and could do nothing as it crashed on her head. There was a collective gasp, as Maiko dropped unto the concert stage unconscious.

Itsuki: "Everything is set to go," they said, "You shouldn't have to worry about the stage lights falling," they said...granted it doesn't really matter now, but those stage workers have left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth now.

Silence was in the air, as Touma ran onstage to inspect Maiko. Checked the woman's pulse, heart rate, and anything else that needed to be checked.

"She's okay, everyone, she's alright!" addressed Touma as he gave a thumbs up, while everyone cheered. Because you gotta cheer if someone's okay, right?

"You did it, Marianne, you actually did it!" Fox told the noblewoman, as everyone else backstage joined the noblewoman onstage. The idol singers came over to Marianne, who was befuddled to be in so much company.

"Actually did what?" questioned a rather perplexed Marianne as she looked around, bewildered by every little thing that was taking place.

"Don't you see? Your misfortune saved the concert - and the fate of Star Records!" said Falco, as Marianne started to smile a bit. Got to show off her heroic side.

"It was the wind blowing the stage light down that saved the day, but yeah let's just go with Marianne's misfortune..." frowned Itsuki, picking the worse possible time to act like a party pooper.

"What should we do with Miss Shimazaki?" Touma asked Itsuki and the others, holding an unconscious Maiko over his shoulders. "Just say something already, she's heavier than I thought..."

"Take her to a nearby hospital - she'll wake up there, and act as if she had a wild dream." So Touma ran off-stage, retreating to the nearest hospital, as Itsuki grabbed the microphone Maiko had dropped.

"Always knew you had it in ya..." Fox said to Marianne, who smiled harder as she followed the pilot and others backstage. Itsuki remained, as he was standing in front of the crowd.

"Sorry for that...very abrupt interruption, everyone...now who wants to see more of the concert?!" The crowd would cheer in response, as Itsuki expected. "Alright then, let's keep the fun rolling!"

Fox: Got a text from Mario just now - said that he wanted to discuss his officiant role at the wedding "in light of last week's incident". Depending on how much longer Falco and I have to stay in Tokyo, that meeting might have to be postponed...


Back at the mansion, Claude was still waiting for his lunch. He figured that Hilda would take forever to have the lunch prepared, but he didn't think that it would take her that long.

"That Hilda better not have let herself get sidetracked..." said Claude, with Isabelle being the only person keeping him company. Soon the door to Master Hand's room opened, as Claude's face lit up.

"Sup..." greeted Sonic, as he entered the room holding a plate in his hands. Had a napkin draped over it, for some apparent reason.

"Oh, Sonic! It's you again! What's the matter with Hilda this time?" After closing the bedroom door, Sonic sat on Master Hand's bed, near Claude.

"How about, I tell you a little story...a story about how my day's been going so far?"


Lorenz was understandably scared after being chased by Polteageist and the haunted teacups - so much, that the nobleman took time away from the tea party to recollect himself. When Lorenz returned to the tea party, he expected all of his party guests to still be there...

"Wh-Where is everyone?" questioned Lorenz, when he returned to the balcony and only saw Celica, Rinea, King Dedede and the Black Knight around. Mario, Luigi, and Lysithea showed up near the distraught Lorenz.

"Most of your party guests-a left," Mario told Lorenz, who was left even more distraught. "They left one-a by one, while you were being chased-a around!"

"But how?!" Looking for answers, Lorenz saw Lysithea, and pointed at the noblewoman. "This was all you fault, wasn't it Lysithea? You used your magic on the teacups!"

"It was pretty amusing, seeing you running and screaming your head off," smiled Lysithea, as Lorenz held his finger at the noblewoman. Wanted to say something, but just couldn't get it out."

"Where is Princess Peach? Having a lady of her caliber was an imperative, a major reason for having this tea party! Celica, Rinea, where is Princess Peach?"

"How should we know?" responded Rinea, speaking back to Lorenz in a tone that the nobleman did not expect. "Celica and I honestly came here just for the tea."

"And I came here just for the scones!" King Dedede proudly proclaimed, sucking up all the scones into that giant mouth of his. Lorenz gasped in disbelief.

Bowser: To tell you the truth, I only agreed to join Lorenz's tea party because I figured that Peach and Daisy (but mainly Peach) would be invited to the party as well. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have touched that lame tea party with a ten-foot pole! Don't wanna be seen hanging around with Lorenz, and that awfully suspect haircut of his.

"Lorenz? Oh, there you are..." Peach showed up at the balcony, approaching Lorenz. She could tell how broken the nobleman was. "I just wanted to say that I had a swell time at your tea party."

"R-Really, you really mean that?" asked Lorenz as was feeling happy again; for Peach to give him props meant all the world to him.

"No, not really...I was actually kind of bored with the tea party, to be honest with you. Same could be said for Daisy." Lorenz was a broken man once again. "Don't know why I agreed to attend in the first place. But seeing you so spooked was fun! Best part of the party, for me."

"Wanna head-a back home, my sweet wife?" Mario asked Peach, taking the princess' hand as Lorenz crumbled down to his knees.

"Daisy is back home already, so...I don't see why not." So Mario and Peach left the balcony, hand in hand, with Luigi following after them. Lysithea looked at Lorenz, amused by how crushed he was.

"Your tea parties aren't as all as you think," the noblewoman said to Lorenz, who was receiving a pat on the back from the Black Knight. Not even that could uplift Lorenz's spirits.

"This has to be a setup..." said Lorenz, still looking for answers as he glanced at Lysithea. "...you made Peach say those negative things, didn't you?"

"Again, I was only responsible for casting magic on the teacups. And Luigi was responsible for the teapot Pokemon that was chasing you. Everything else...was purely additional."


Wanting to let bygones be bygones, Zelda had Link apologize to Leonie in the hallway for his comments earlier. Cloud was standing by, as a witness.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier, about you not being bad at table tennis...for a woman," Link apologized to Leonie with sweat pouring down his face, knowing that Zelda was glaring intensely at him.

"Anything else, Link?" asked Leonie, knowing that there was something else the Hylian had to apologize for. Something that was on Leonie's head.

"And I'm also sorry for making fun of your haircut. It's not as boyish as I made it seem...I'm sure it'll turn out to be an awesome ponytail someday."

"Apology accepted! Glad that we could get this whole thing behind us." Link would let out a sigh of relief, as Zelda stopped her glaring. But Zelda gave Link a stern look, just so she could lay the law down.

"Don't let anything like this happen ever again..." the princess warned Link, who nodded his head as he walked away. Cloud walked with Link, accompanying the Hylian down the hallway.

"Had a lot of nerve to do what you did today," Cloud said to Link as the swordsmen walked down the hallway. "I'm just glad that we had no best out of...hey, Link, check that out."

Cloud came to a stop in the hallway, and Link stopped too, as Cloud pointed in the distance. Link looked over, and saw Claude, chewing out Hilda. Hilda was feeling guilty, hands behind her back, as Sonic stood next to Claude with a smirk.

"I'm ashamed in you, Hilda..." Claude shook his head at the noblewoman, while holding the plate that Sonic had given him earlier. "... always finding some way to get yourself out of work."

"Claude, I can explain..." Hilda tried to speak up, only to be silenced when Claude held up his hand. Hilda looked down at the floor.

"All I wanted you to do is fix me some tea, and prepare me lunch! I mean, anyone could do that. Now I want you to apologize to sonic here, for forcing him to do the tasks YOU were responsible for."

"...I'm sorry for making you do all those things, Sonic," Hilda apologized to the hedgehog, who believed that Hilda apologizing for anything and taking fault was out of her element. Which wasn't that true. "Should've done them myself."

"Now let's see what's under this napkin..." Claude lifted up the napkin to see what was on his plate, and his eyes went wide in shock. Cloud looked shocked, and so did Link and Hilda. "Wait, is this...is this CHEESECAKE?!"

"Oh boy...here we go again," sighed Cloud, with Claude acting like he was holding an atomic grenade bomb in his hand the way he was acting. Sonic whistled innocently, inching away before speeding off.

Cloud: I'd like to think that I might have played a small part in what happened to Cilan's previous cheesecakes...fortunately I wasn't responsible this time around.


Ignatz remained at the lounge, checking out a few portraits that Yusuke had on for display. Almost like the commoner had forgotten what he was previously so worried about...

"Looking at these portraits made me forgot why I was so worried for," remarked Ignatz, with Dunban in the lounge listening on as he read the latest edition of Swordsman Weekly. "Do you know why I was worried, Dunban?"

"I believe you mentioned something about Cilan's cheesecake..." replied Dunban as he flipped a page in his magazine...and that's when Ignatz gasped, his eyes growing wide as he dashed out of the lounge. Dunban looked up, looking around. "...Ignatz?"


Running like the wind, Ignatz showed up at the dining room, where he saw Cilan on the floor almost in tears. Why? Because his five-layered cheesecake was eaten, as many slices were taken. Only a few slices remained, as Pit, Kirby, Incineroar, Raphael, and even Ribbon Girl stood around, all feeling bad.

"My five-layered cheesecake..." whined Cilan, holding back the tears as he banged his fist on the floor. "...it's almost gone...and I wasn't finished decorating it..."

"Sure looked finished to me," remarked Pit, as Ribbon Girl shushed the angel. Now wasn't the best time to say anything...

Sonic: Yeah, I didn't know what to get Claude for lunch, so I went with the easy route and fixed him a slice of Cilan's cheesecake! I thought that wouldn't matter at first, but then Gerudo Ganon saw me with the cheesecake while I was searching for the whipped cream, and got a slice of cheesecake for himself. Then many others followed suit. So I incidentally started a domino effect...

Ribbon Girl: Managed to intercept Raphael just in time, and keep him and the others away from the cheesecake thanks to my trusty ARMS. But that didn't stop everyone else from getting a slice of cheesecake, while I had my back turned...and I feel bad now.

Pit: Wished my pals and I could've warned Ribbon Girl that people were eating the cheesecake. We were too busy avoiding having our butts kicked to speak up. Also, Ribbon Girl's peripheral vision kinda sucks.

"It's like what you said on Boxing Day, Cilan," Raphael said to the connoisseur, who was slowly standing back up on his feet. "Food waits for no one! Your cheesecake was just dying to be eaten!"

"No, no it wasn't!" shouted Cilan, the most angry anyone has ever seen him. "It was there on the table just for display! But noooo, a bunch of idiots had to eat it while I was showing Chef Kawasaki how to use a cheese grater properly!"

"Wow, Cilan, sorry about your cake...wish I could've been there to prevent anyone from eating it," Ignatz offered an apology to Cilan, but his apology was insignificant as Cilan turned around and pointed at Ignatz.

"You! You were one of the idiots that ate my cake, weren't you?" Cilan was so incensed, he might blame everyone under the mansion roof for eating his cake.

"I had nothing to do with it! I was only trying to prevent Raphael or anyone else from eating your cake...but it looks like I've failed."

"You're lying to me, I just know it! Why, I'm so angry right now...so angry that I might slap someone! Like you!" Cilan was about to slap Ignatz, winding up his arm...

...and then the connoisseur brought his hand close to Ignatz's face, his hand sliding smoothly down the commoner's face. It was only a miracle that Ignatz was able to withstand, let alone survive, such a viciously lethal slap.

"That was the worst slap attempt I've ever witnessed..." remarked Ignatz as Cilan was now holding his wrist, ashamed of his own perpetual weakness. "...will you be alright, Cilan?"

"I'll be fine...just need some alone time," replied Cilan, trudging out of the dining room while still holding his hand. No chance that the connoisseur would ever let this go - just like the two previous times.

"Hey, Ignatz, there's some slices of cheesecake, saved just for you!" Raphael grinned at his best friend, bringing his attention to the slices of cheesecake that were left remaining. "All of 'em are small slices, just as you preferred!"

Cilan could really use a hug right now...perhaps Byleth and Beleth could give him one, when they join the mansion next week.